Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The Three-Month Term Expires

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The height of summer had arrived in Anping County. During this time, Chu Bai’s life was extremely disciplined, almost to the point of being tedious.

Every day before dawn, he would go to the banks of the Sanmu River to absorb a bit of Water Spiritual Qi. During the day, he attended Master Liu’s lectures on various subjects at the academy. In the evening, he went to the Zhao Mansion to get beaten up for money. At night, he returned home to cultivate relentlessly, day and night, aided by the nourishment of the mutated strange fish’s flesh.

He had already consumed more than half of the hundred-jin mutated fish. Every bite he swallowed transformed into surging Essence Qi, steadily pushing his Cultivation higher.

Late one night, the moonlight outside the window was as fluid as water. Chu Bai sat cross-legged on his bed, wearing the Calm Heart Jade Ring and circulating his Cultivation Technique as usual.

With each breath, the surrounding Spiritual Qi flowed into his body like a trickling stream.

Suddenly, a peculiar buzzing sound resonated deep within his mind.

Chu Bai felt as if an invisible force had forcibly widened the meridians throughout his body. The circulation path for his Spiritual Qi, which had been somewhat sluggish, was now incredibly smooth.

If before it was a trickling brook that needed careful guidance, now it was a surging river, flowing unimpeded.

The speed at which he absorbed Spiritual Qi had suddenly increased by a huge margin!

With a thought, a pale blue panel materialized before his eyes.

[Skill:]

[Small Qi Gathering Technique: Mastery (1/500)]

"Finally... Mastery!"

A flash of joy crossed Chu Bai’s eyes.

The qualitative change brought by the Skill’s breakthrough was significant. He tried taking a deep breath. Even without having eaten any Spiritual Flesh, just by relying on his Mastery Level technique and the blessing of his [Nourishing and Exquisite] Fate Chart, his speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi far surpassed what it was before. It nearly reached the level he had achieved when consuming the Spiritual Flesh.

He glanced at the Realm column again.

[Realm: Qi Introduction (52/100)]

’My Spiritual Qi accumulation is past the halfway mark, and my speed has stabilized at one strand per day. At this rate, even without any external aids, I’ll definitely reach Perfection within two months.’

Chu Bai clenched his fist. Feeling the abundant Qi within him, his heart settled with confidence.

The next morning, Chu Bai didn’t go to the river. Instead, he deliberately changed into a clean robe and went straight to the Zhang Mansion.

Inside the quiet room, sandalwood incense smoke curled in the air.

Daoist Zhang placed a hand on Chu Bai’s wrist, carefully examining his pulse. A moment later, despite his usual composure, a look of astonishment couldn’t help but appear on his face.

"Over fifty strands... Excellent! Excellent! Even without the aid of Pills, this speed of yours is enough to stand proud among your peers."

Daoist Zhang withdrew his hand, his gaze on the disciple before him growing more and more satisfied. "It seems your decision to also cultivate the Water Technique was the right one. That Purifying Spirit Flow is quite beneficial for your constitution."

Chu Bai bowed respectfully, then said with a solemn expression, "Master, this disciple has another request. A few days ago, I encountered a strange fish. Although I was fortunate enough to slay it, I became keenly aware of my lack of offensive measures. Now that my Spiritual Qi is past the halfway mark, this disciple boldly asks... might I learn an offensive Magic Technique? So that I may prepare for future combat."

Daoist Zhang didn’t agree immediately upon hearing this, instead falling into a contemplative silence for a moment.

Generally speaking, practicing Magic Techniques before reaching the First Layer of Qi Cultivation could easily lead to Spiritual Qi exhaustion and damage one’s foundation. This was a major taboo in the Cultivation Realm.

But looking at this disciple before him—physically robust, with abundant Spiritual Qi, and a mentality far beyond his peers—he ultimately nodded.

"Very well. You cultivate the Water Technique, and you have the Purifying Spirit Flow as your foundation. Your Spiritual Qi recovery rate is far beyond that of an ordinary person. It is indeed acceptable for you to start learning this early."

As he spoke, Daoist Zhang took a cyan Jade Scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Chu Bai.

"This is not some common, dime-a-dozen ’Water Bullet Technique’ that you’d find in the Marketplace. It’s a clever skill your master chanced upon in his early years of travel. It’s called—’Spirit Water Needle’."

"The Water Bullet Technique is powerful, but it’s noisy, consumes a lot of energy, and is easily dodged. The ’Spirit Water Needle,’ on the other hand, is all about highly compressing Water Spiritual Qi and firing it as a fine needle."

As Daoist Zhang explained, he raised his hand to demonstrate.

With a light tap of his index finger, without even forming a visible hand seal, the water vapor in the air instantly condensed at his fingertip, forming a barely perceptible, deep-blue, fine needle.

"Go."

There was no sound of it cutting through the air, only a soft sound.

The Water Needle pierced through a sturdy Iron Wood pillar in the corner of the study, leaving behind a bottomless little hole with not even the slightest crack around it, a testament to its terrifying penetrative power.

"It’s stealthy, has strong penetration, and consumes very little energy. It’s perfectly suited for someone like you, who doesn’t have abundant Spiritual Qi yet but possesses keen perception."

Chu Bai’s eyes lit up as he watched. This was practically a divine skill tailor-made for him!

In the following days, another item was added to Chu Bai’s cultivation schedule.

In the reed marshes on the Sanmu Riverbank, a young man could often be seen pointing his finger at the reeds.

At first, his Magic Technique practice did not go smoothly.

The Spiritual Qi was difficult to condense, dissipating into a mist the moment it left his fingertip. Or, the compression wasn’t strong enough, and the projectile would shoot out limply, like he was just sprinkling water.

But bolstered by his [Rapid Thinking] Fate Chart, Chu Bai did not get discouraged. He continuously adjusted the Spiritual Qi circulation paths and compression frequency. After hundreds of failures and attempts, his fingertip finally trembled as he found the critical point.

WHOOSH!

A crooked Water Needle shot out and struck a reed stalk. While it failed to pierce through, it left a deep white mark.

Though its power was still shallow, Chu Bai beamed as he saw the new line on his panel: [Spirit Water Needle: Beginner].

’The first step is always the hardest,’ he thought. ’As long as I’ve gotten my foot in the door, the rest is just a matter of grinding!’

...

Spring passed and summer arrived. In the blink of an eye, the three-month term for the academy’s Inner Sect Study had come to an end.

On this day in Calm Heart Hall, the cicadas outside the window were as noisy as ever, but the atmosphere inside the hall was unusually somber.

Daoist Zhang sat cross-legged under a tree, his gaze sweeping over the four disciples before him.

In three months, some had been completely transformed, while others were still treading water.

"The three months are up," Daoist Zhang said slowly, his voice calm and even. "According to the academy’s rules, the Inner Sect Study is not a one-time affair. If you wish to continue your advanced studies here and receive guidance, you must pay the tuition fee for the next term."

Ten taels of silver.

Those four words weighed on everyone’s heart like a great mountain.

Li Jinyuan looked relaxed, even having the leisure to adjust his sleeves.

With a casual wave, the book-servant behind him presented a silver ingot that had been prepared long ago. The gleaming white silver was quite conspicuous.

For the young master of the Li Family, this amount of money was merely the cost of a few fewer trips to the tavern, hardly worth mentioning.

Gu Qinghe’s expression, however, was much more grave. He pulled a patched and mended coin purse from his robes. His fingers were rough, a result of long-term sword practice and his work at the Zhao Mansion.

It was his blood-money, earned over the past three months as a human punching bag at the Zhao Mansion—getting thrown around time and again, bleeding time and again—and even from doing manual labor at the docks.

He counted and recounted it, then took a deep breath. With a determined look in his eyes, he handed it over with a trembling hand.

"Disciple... will continue."

Finally, it was Wang Xiaoliu’s turn.

The fisherman’s son, usually so quick-witted, now stood with his head bowed, his face flushed red. He gripped the corners of his shirt so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

After a long silence, as if all strength had left him, he slowly stood up and gave Daoist Zhang a deep bow. His voice choked with emotion, he said, "Master Zhang... my family... we really can’t scrape it together."

"My father injured his leg while fishing a few days ago, and all our family’s savings went to buying medicine... This path of Cultivation... this disciple can no longer afford to walk it."

Daoist Zhang sighed softly. He didn’t say much, only nodded. "Go, then. Even if you are not in the Inner Sect, as long as you are diligent, it’s not as if there are no other paths. Since you have already achieved Qi Sensitivity in these three months, you can easily go back and live as a wealthy man."

After class was dismissed, Chu Bai walked Wang Xiaoliu to the academy gate.

Wang Xiaoliu, carrying a small bundle on his back, glanced back at the tall "Calm Heart Hall" plaque, his eyes filled with reluctance and helplessness.

"Brother Chu, I’m truly envious of you. Not only are you talented, but you were also taken as Master Zhang’s personal disciple," Wang Xiaoliu said with a bitter smile. "Actually, I’m content. In these three months, I at least got my foot in the door and gained a bit of Qi Sensitivity. I can go back and help my family with the fishing. With strength and eyesight a little better than a Mortal’s, life should be pretty good."

Watching Wang Xiaoliu’s lonely figure retreat and gradually disappear at the end of the street, Chu Bai felt a mix of complex emotions.

The path to immortality was cruel. This was the first filter: wealth.

If not for his panel—his cheat—and if not for meeting a benevolent master who waived his tuition fee, he might have been one of those leaving in despair today.

This was reality. Without resources, no matter how hard you worked, sometimes you simply couldn’t overcome the heavy weight of ten taels of silver.

Gu Qinghe walked up to Chu Bai’s side. Watching Wang Xiaoliu’s departing figure, his eyes revealed a fierce glint—a wildness forged by the hardships of life.

"I don’t want to go back to fishing," Gu Qinghe said through clenched teeth. "Even if I die on the Martial Arts Arena at the Zhao Mansion, even if I have to be a human target for the rest of my life, I will climb up. I don’t want to live that kind of hand-to-mouth life anymore."

After speaking, he looked at Chu Bai, his expression complicated. "Brother Chu, your share... did you pay it?"

Not wanting to provoke his fellow student’s fragile pride, Chu Bai answered vaguely, "My master gave me a few more days. I still need to find a way to raise the funds."

Gu Qinghe nodded, not suspecting anything, and just patted Chu Bai’s shoulder. "It’s not easy for any of us. It’ll be better if we can become real Cultivators one day."

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the sun set over Anping County.

The road of Cultivation had fewer and fewer fellow travelers. But Chu Bai clenched his fists. He wouldn’t just stay on this road—he would walk at the very front, and he would reach the very top.